Types of Personal Injury

The ability to file a personal injury claim provides victims who have suffered from irreparable injury or damage as a result of negligence or harmful actsinflicted by another individual, company, manufacturer, or other entity, the legal right to recover their damages. Personal Injury lawsuits are filed for a number of reasons, which could be anywhere from medical malpractice to dog bites. Injuries can happen just about anywhere where people coexist, such as at work, on the road, at home, at a place of business or just out on the town.

Transportation Accidents
Auto accidents are among the most common type of personal injury cases. When an accident happens in an automobile, or any other type of transportation for that matter, it is caused by negligence or carelessness by the driver. If a driver fails to perform his legal duty to drive with respect to others on the road, he may be held financially and legally responsible for any damages caused by his lack of attention. Whether the accident is caused by a person driving too fast or driving under the influence of something, the ultimate stance on personal injury for auto cases is the offending driver can be held liable for his actions if he is acting in any way that antypical person would not act.

Slips, Trips and Falls Cases
Another type of common personal injury claimsare cases dealing with slips, trips or falls. When a person is injured by slipping or tripping due to hazardous conditions at a location, property owners can be held liable for their injuries if they failed to adequately warn the individual of these dangers. A relatable example of such a case is wherein businesses insist on displaying “Wet Floor” signs when cleaning. If this proper warning is not given by businesses, they can be liable for any injuries that may occur.

Homeowner/Landowner Liability
Homeowner and landowner liability is an extension of slip and fall cases. This is typically applied to personal injury cases that are very similar to slip, trip and fall cases, except they do not actually incorporate slipping, tripping and/or falling. For instance, if a child undergoes an injury as a result of a playground owner not fulfilling his duty to warn of unsafe playground equipment, the playground owner can be held liable for the injuries sustained by the child.

Defamation: Libel & Slander
Personal injury cases are not limited to physical injuries. A person can suffer a personal injury to his reputation through libel or slander by another individual. When false and damaging statements are made about an individual publically, either orally or in writing, he must prove these untrue statementscaused him defamation of character. Damage of reputation can result in the loss of a job or business, thus resulting in eligibility for financial compensation for the victim.

Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when doctors, physicians, hospitals or other health care providers do not perform certain actions or omissions that are expected to be performed at a professional level.Misdiagnosing the patient or providing the wrong dose of medication are examples of medical malpractice.

Toxic Torts
Toxic tort cases refer to cases that involve an individual’s exposure to hazards or chemicals as a direct result of another individual or company. Often, toxic tort cases are large and extensive and involve multiple plaintiffs and defendants. For example: a chemical plant dumps dangerous toxins in the ground that inadvertently infect the water supply to a nearby neighborhood, causing the surrounding residents to develop some debilitating disease. These victims have the legal right to sue the chemical plant individually or in a class-action suit.

Product Liability
Manufacturers and distributors of products have the legal duty to warn consumers of any dangers or risks associated with taking the product. Individuals who experience serious and negative side-effects as a result of taking a defective drug, for example, can hold the manufacturer or distributor of the specific drug accountable for their injuries if the side-effects were not sufficiently forewarned.

Dog Attacks and/or Bites
Dog owners should be held responsible for their pets when they cause injury or harm to another individual, especially if the owner knowingly keeps a dangerous animal or violates any confinement laws.

Intentional Torts
On the contrary to the previously mentioned types of personal injury cases, intentional torts are always caused by adeliberate wrongdoing on the defendant’s part. In these cases, an individual must not only provide evidence of negligence, but also of intent. An important factor of proving intent that one must take into consideration is that a plaintiff does only has to prove that a defendant performed the act purposely, but not necessary directly to the plaintiff.For further clarification, if Sally intended to cause direct harm to Sam and she inflicted the harm on Cindy, who was standing next to Sam, then Cindy can sue Sally for her injuries.

Wrongful Death
A wrongful death claim can incorporate any of the above-mentioned types of personal injury cases, except for the ending result of the injury causes death in the individual. These cases are typically brought on by living family members or by the estate of the person who has passed away and ensure that a defendant is held liable for the injuries caused, whether they are physical, emotional or financial.

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HANDLE YOUR CLAIM ALONE

The personal injury law field is very broad in scope and requires familiarity of the specific laws and stipulations unique to each case in order to get you the reward you deserve for your injures. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help you understand the various loopholes associated with this type of law and can ultimately provide you with compensation for your financial, physical and emotional injuries sustained.

You have already been through enough worry after your personal injury. You should not have to stress about lost wages, medical bills and/or car or property damage on top of the lengthy and complex legal process. Let the personal injury lawyers at the Byrd Law Firm take over your case and fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

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